Store service apparatus



(No Model.) 8 Sheets-Sheet 1. H. M. NEER.

STORE SERVICE APPARATUS. No. 544,002. Patented Aug. 6.1895.

WITNESSES:

' ATTORNEYS (No Model.) 8 SheetsSheet 3.

, H. M. NEER.

STORE SERVICE APPARATUS. No. 544,002. v Patented Aug. 6, 1895.-

IIIHIIIHIIIIIIIllllllllllllllllfl llllll lllll ilrlllll lllll WITNESSES:INVENTOR ATTORNEY)? (No Model.) v 8 Sheets-Sheet 4. H., M. NEER.

STORE SERVICE APPARATUS. No. 544,002. Patented Aug. 6, 1895.

jzwngi h I I INYZE/INZZ" ATTOR N EYJ uh s Sheets-Sheet 5. H. M. NEER.

STORE SERVICE APPARATUS. No. 544,002. Patented Aug. 6., 1895 (No Model.)7 8 Sheets-Sheet 6'. r H. M. NEBR.

STORE SERVICE APPARATUS.

No. 544,002. Patented Aug. 6, 1895.

WlTNESSES: I, INVENTOR ATTORNEYG (No Model.) 8 SheetsShet 7. 1 H. M.NEER.

STORE SERVICE APPARATUS.

Patented Aug. 6,

ATTORNEYJ QNo Model.) 8 SheetsSheet 8K H. M. NBERQ- STORE SERVICEAPPARATUS.

No. 544,002. Patented Aug.6,1895.

-H HP A WITNESSES'.

. Unrrno STATES PATENT Orrtcn.

HARRY M. NEER, or SPRINGFIELD, onto, ASSIGNOR TO 0. s. KELLY, 0F SAMEPLACE.

STORE-SERVICE APPARATUS.

SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 544,002, dated August6, 1895.

' 7 Application filed September 10, 1894. Serial No. 522,566. (Nomodel.) i

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HARRY M. NEER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Springfield, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Store'Service Apparatus,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in store-service apparatus.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and effectivestore-service apparatus, the motive power of which is an electriccurrent.

My invention consists in the various constructions and combinations ofparts hereinafter described, and set'forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing themanner of installing my improved store-service apparatus, showing thetrack, cashiers station, and salernans station. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the motor which travels on the track, showing also themanner of supporting .the carrying-receptacles on said motor. Fig. 3 isa detail view of the track and a portion of the motor referred tohereinafter. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the motor and track. Fig. 5 is aplan view of a portion of the motor detached and some of the partsbroken away. Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the same with some of theparts broken away. Fig. 7 is a detail view of a portion of the motorillustrating the manner of releasing the carrying-receptacles therefrom.Figs. 8 and 9 are respectively a side and rear elevation of a stand usedat the different stations from which the carrying-receptacles aresupplied to the carrying-car. Figs. 10 and 11 are detail views ofportions of the same. Figs.12 to 16, inclusive, are detail views showingthe devices for discharging and supplying the traveling car as it passesthe terminus or cashiers station. Fig. 17 is a diagram showing thecontinuous track.

Like parts are represented by similar letters and numerals of referencethronghoutthe several views.

In carrying out my invention I employ a track a a, formed of a singleflat piece of any suitable material, preferably metal, though wood orother material. may be used, ifdesired. This track aa is supportedat'suit able intervals from the ceiling, as shown at a or in any othersuitable manner. The track is extended to such parts of the store orother building as are to be covered by the service, and bythe peculiarconstructions and arrangements of the track and the motor hereinafter tobe described it may be elevated or depressed at any reasonable angle andcarried upwardly, if desired, from one floor to the other.

The traveling car A is suspended from the track a a by means of smallcarrying-wheels b b, which are preferably provided on their peripherieswith rubber or other similar material to prevent slippage. Motion isimparted to these driving-wheels b b from an electric motor, whichissupported on the frame of the car A, and which receives current from twoconductors a 0. extending along the track preferably on the bottom ofthe same. This motor I make of a peculiar construction, inasmuch as itis provided with a single fieldmagnet b and two armatures b b. There arefour of the carrying-wheels b 19', those I) I) being on one side of thecar, and those I) 1) being on the other side of the car, both of thecarrying-wheels on one side of the car and running on one side of thetrack being geared together and to one of the armatures of the motor,the remaining carrying-wheels being geared together and geared to theopposite armature of the motor.

In addition to the carrying-wheels b b and b b, I provide beneath thetrack additional track-wheels b b These track-wheels are adapted to rununder the track and bear on the under side thereof, being held incontact with the track by a spring 19 (See Figs 3 and 5 for detail.)These under-track wheels b b are connected, respectively, to therespective sets of carrying-wheels b b and b b, so that one of theseunder-track wheels is driven from one armature and the other track-wheelis driven from the opposite armature. These under-track wheels are alsopreferably covered with rubber or other material, which prevents theirslipping.

It will be seen from this construction that the driving-wheels on oneside of the car or motor are entirely separate and independent fromthose on the opposite side, each set being driven from a separatearmature, which armatures are operated from a single fieldmagnet. Theresult of this construction is that in going around curves, which isabsolutely necessary for an apparatus of this kind, there is noslipping, the armatu res regulating themselves to any speed of thewheels, whether on the inside or outside of the track, and re volvingaccordingly.

The power to drive the track-wheels is conveyed to suitable gearing, asindicated in Fig. 2. A main driving-gear 1 meshes with a pinion 0 on thearmatureshaft. It has on the shaft therewith a pinion 2, which mesheswith an intermediate gear 3, which, in turn, drives the track-wheelsthrough the medium of the gears 4 and 5, which mesh with theintermediate gear 3. A gear 6 meshing with the gear 5 drives theunder-track wheel of each series. The gearing on opposite sides of thecar is the same, so that under normal conditions the respectivearmatures are driven uniformly and uniformly drive the trackwheels. Itwill be understood that the gears 4, 5, and 6 are of the same diameterand that the track-wheels connected thereto are of a uniform diameter.The gears 5 and 6 mesh together, while those 3 and 6 do not. Toaccomplish this I construct the under trackwheels b I) each with asleeve b which extends onto a tapered shaft 1;,journaled in the frame ofthe car and carrying the gear 6. This shaft is connected to the sleeve bby a pin 1) which passes through suitable openings made sufficientlylarge to permit a universal movement of the sleeve about the shaft b" toa limited extent. By this construction the spring D which pressesagainst the trackwheel support, is enabled to keep the undertrack-wheels pressed firmly against the track so that said track isgrasped securely between the upper and lower track-wheels and thusinsures the movement of the car along the track whenever the two wheelsare revolved, even though the track should be elevated at a sharp angle.

The car A is provided on each side with a longitudinal carrying rod orway I), which are supported by transverse bars b, extending from oneside of the motor to the other and connected to the frame thereof at thebottom. These ways or rods 12 are adapted to support the receptacles 0,into which the articles to be carried or delivered are placed. Thesereceptacles c are each formed at each end with laterally-extending hooksc, which are adapted to rest on the bars or ways Z) and support the saidreceptacles on the car. In practice a number of these receptacles c,which may be formed in the nature of haskets of wire or other suitablelight material, are placed at the differentstations, one of which isrepresented at A in Fig. 1. Each of these stations consists of uprightstandards (1 and cl',on which is adapted to slide aframe (1 to which isattached a U shaped supporting-piece (Z which carries at each extremitylongitudinal rods or ways (1. These rods or ways (1 are in constructionsimilar to those I) on the car, and the baskets or receptacles to begathered by the car are placed thereon, being supported by projections cwhich support said receptacles on said rods or ways in a manner similarto that in which they are supported on the car by the hooks orprojections 0, as before described.

The ways Z) on the car are inclined down- Wardly at one end, as shown inFig. 2, and a pivoted latch I) is provided in close proximity to theplace where this inclination ends, so that as the car travels along thetrack if one of the baskets or receptacles is supported on the ways atthe same elevation as those on the car the end of the ways on the carrun under the hooks of the receptacle and elevate said receptacle,raising the pivoted latch, which, falling by gravity, prevents thebasket or receptacle from again passing off from this end of the way orsupporting-rpd.

Each of the stations A is provided with a raising and lowering device,which consists, preferably, of a rope d attached at one end to the frame(1 and provided at the other with a suitable handle. By pulling the roped the frame 61 carrying the ways (1", maybe elevated to a position inwhich the ways d" will be substantially on the same plane with the carwhich passes said station. Toinsure this result, a curved arm (1 isemployed, which extends from a point above the track outwardly anddownwardly, and is provided with a forked end 61 adapted to engage alaterallyextending projection d on one of the ways at, so as to insurethe frame being elevated into the same position at each successiveoperation. This standard is further provided with a spring-catch (1",adapted as the frame (Z is elevated to engage said frame and hold it inan elevated position. The frame (1 is further provided with a pivotedlatch (Z having at the opposite ends upwardly and downwardly extendingarms with lateral projections, as shown in detail in Figs. 10 and 11.One of these lateral projections on'one of these arms stands, when theframe is in an elevated position, opposite the spring-catch (Z and theother stands in close proximity to the supporting way or rod d of saidframe, the construction being such that when the basket or carryingreceptacle is deposited onto the ways (1 from the car in the mannerhereinafter specified, the weight of said basket will move said pivotedlatch d and cause it to disengage the spring-catch d, as shown in dottedlines in Fig. 11, and allow the frame d to descend with the said basket.

It should be stated that the traveling car in addition to the ways I) isprovided with spring-actuated pivoted arms 0 which extend outwardly andbackwardly so as to rest in contact with the ways I). These arms arepivoted at b" to the motor-frame and con- 'nected together by a bar 11and adapted to be oscillated by a forwardly-extending lever h arms bserve as stops to prevent the baskets or receptacles on the car fromsliding off from the ways in the direction opposite to that in which thecar is going, and the raising and lowering of these arms at the momentof passing the station permits the baskets or.

receptacles to be delivered at the station, providing said station isthe proper one, which is determined in the manner hereinafter described.

At the terminal or cashiers station, which is shown in Fig. 1 at A aslightly-different arrangement is provided. Here I employ a revolvingdelivering device, which consists of a supporting sleeve or standard 6,preferably supported from the ceiling, and in which is journaled a shaft6, carrying at one end a series of laterally-extending arms e each ofwhich is provided at its outer end with a U- shaped bar a having at itsextremities lon gitudinal ways (2, corresponding to the. ways (1 at theother station described. In the normal position one set of these waysstands at alltimes in. proximity to the track and in a position toreceive the baskets or receptacles, which are gathered up and depositedby the traveling motor or car. As each basket or receptacle is depositedthereon, the shaft e is caused to revolve a portion of a revolutioncorresponding to the number of arms thereon, thus carrying thereceptacle around and depositing it on the cashiers or wrappers table.buch receptacles as are to be returned are placed on the vacant arms, sothat each partial revolution may discharge one or more receptacles fromthe car and supply it with others.

The revolution of the shaft e is effected in the following manner: Tothe shaft is connected a spring-case a containing a spiral spring e,which is secured at one end to said spring-case and at the other to saidshaft e. (See Figs. 15 and 16.) The outside of the spring-case isprovided with a ratchet e having a number of teeth corresponding to thearms supported on said shaft, there being four in the present case. Anauxiliary pawland-ratchet device a is provided to prevent said shaftfrom revolving except in one direction. In close proximity to the shaftis an electric solenoid e, the core 6 of which is connected to a pawl e,adapted to engage the teeth of the ratchet-wheel a". Each time a carpasses along that portion of the track opposite to the revolving .shaft,an electrical impulse is established through the solenoid e", in themanner hereinafter described, which causes the core e to reciprocate,and thus carries the ratchet-wheel e around a portion of a revo lutionequal to the number of teeth therein.

This movement of the ratchet-wheel places the spring a under tension, sothat when the shaft is released by the means hereinafter described saidshaft is caused by said spring to revolve a similar distance, bringing anew set of supporting devices into position to receive the load from thecar.

It should be stated that the motors or cars, of which any suitablenumber may be employed, are intended to run continuously and in the samedirection at all 'times. Each receptacle is provided with a stoppeculiar to the station to which it belongs, so that as it comes to saidstation its stop comes in contact with similarly-arranged projections atsaid station and discharges the basket or receptacle therefrom. Allbaskets or receptacles, however, which are carried to theterminalstation are discharged, and as the motors run in the samedirection at all times, the baskets or receptacles are alwaysdistributed in the order in which they are gathered, the operatorreturning them to the motor in the order in which they are received.

The devices for effecting the starting and stopping of the rotatingshaft e are shown in Figs. 12 to 14, inclusive. For each of the arms 6there is provided a projection 6 located in proper positionand'adapt'ed, as the shaft is revolved, to pass under a pivoted latch 9,supported on a frame in proximity to the track. Adjacent to this latchis a downwardly-extending finger e on the end of a pivoted arm e theprojecting end e of which is adapted, as the motor or car passes alongthe track, to be operated by said motor so as to raise the finger 6 andthus release the projection 6 and permit the rotating shaft to revolve.The pivoted arm e is threaded through the perforated end of a smallpivoted contacting-lever e", to which one pole of an electric generatoris attached.

In proximity to this pivoted lever e is a stationary contacting-piece 6to which the other pole of the generator is attached. The circuit formedby these contact devices includes the solenoid e the construction beingsuch that as the finger e is elevated by the movement of the car itcauses the contacting devices e e to come together and establish acircuit through the solenoid e", which operates the ratchet device, inthe manner before described, to produce the rotation of the shaft 6'.

It will be understood that the operation of the solenoid is completed ina short interval of time, and serves only to set the spring to cause theshaft to revolve, which produces its movement in a more leisurelymanner. As

soon as the car passes the lever 6 the contacting devices and theprojecting finger e assume their normal positions, and as the shaft erevolves the next succeeding projection e is brought in contact with theprojecting finger e, and retained there by the pivoted latch e The shafte, being revolved by'the tension of the spring, acquires some ICC littlemomentum just prior to the time it is stopped by the stop-finger c andthe jar or recoil occasioned by the sudden stoppage is utilized to causethe baskets or receptacles to slide from the supporting rods or ways 6and drop onto the cashiers or wrappers desk in convenient position formanipulation.

At each of the stations, except the terminal or cashiers station, stopdevices are provided to contact with the traveling receptacles on themotor-car. These stop devices are shown atf (see Fig. 8) and areprovided with small projections f and intervening spaces, somethingafter the manner of the tumblers in a permutation-lock, the receptaclesbeing provided with similarly-arranged projections, the spaces andprojections being varied at each station and on each receptacle, so thatthe stop devices on the receptacles come in contact only with the stopdevices of that station to which the receptacle belongs.

It should be stated that the current to drive the motor is collectedfrom the conductors from suitable brushes or other collectors. (Shown inFig. 6.)

ltis obvious that the constructions set forth admit of variousmodifications in the details of construction. I do not, therefore, limitmyself to such construction; but

I claim as my invention- 1. In a store service apparatus, a fiathorizontal track, and a motor car having track wheelsto operate againstsaid track, said track wheels being arranged above and below the trackand one or more of said track wheels being yieldingly supported so as tobear yieldingly against said track, a motor on said car having a singlefield magnet and independent armatures, each of said armatures beingconnected to the driving wheels on one side of said track, substantiallyas specified.

2. The combination with a motor car and a fiat horizontal track on whichthe same operates, a motor on said car having a single field magnet andtwo independentarmatures, track wheels on said motor car adapted tooperate on said track, the track wheels on opposite sides of said carbeing connected independently to the respective armatures, each set oftrack wheels including one or more wheels above and below said track,and means as described for keeping said track wheels in contact withsaid track, substantially as specified.

3. In a store service apparatus, a iiat horizontal track, a motor carhaving track wheels to operate against said track, said track wheelsbeing arranged above and below said track and having their peripheriescovered with rubber or other flexible material, guides or ways on saidcar, and carrying receptacles having suitable hook-shaped arms to beengaged by said guides or ways, substantially as and for the purposespecified.

t. In a store service apparatus, a series of stations and a trackextending in proximity to said stations, an electrically operated motorcar on said track having guides or ways, and stationary supportingdevices at eachof said stations adapted to support carrying receptacleshaving hook-shaped arms which lie along the line of travel of saidguides or ways, stop projections on said receptacles and stationsrespectively, and a revolving discharging apparatus operatedelectrically by the movement of said car to receive said receptacles asthe car passesthe same,substantially as specified.

5. In a store service apparatus, a moving car having guides or ways toreceive carrying receptacles, as described, a revolving shaft havingprojecting arms carrying guides or ways adapted in their normalpositions to rest adjacent to the line of travel of said car, a springconnected to said shaft, and a solenoid for operating said spring, andmeans as described for sending an electrical impulse through saidsolenoid at the same time said shaft is released, substantially asspecified.

6. The combination with a stationary track, of a revolving shaft havingprojecting arms, a car on said. track adapted to carry receptacles asdescribed, and guides or ways on said projecting arms to engage saidreceptacles, a spring connected to said shaft, and a solenoid foroperating said spring, a pivoted catch for retaining said projectingarms in their norrnal position, and electrical contacting devicesconnected to said catch, said contacting devices being adapted toestablish an electrical circuit through said solenoid, and means asdescribed for operating said catch and said contacting devices as thecar passes along said track, substantially as specified.

7. The combination with a track, a motorcar on said track, guides orways on said car, gravity latches on one end of said guides or ways andpivoted arms at the other end of said guides or ways, said pivoted armsbeing adapted to be operated by stationary projections as the car passesalong said track, substantially as specified.

8. The combination with the track, and a motor car adapted to travelthereon, supporting track wheels supported in rigid bearings on saidcar, and auxiliary track wheels arranged opposite the main track wheels,said auxiliary track wheels being connected to the driving mechanism bya joint as described, and a spring for holding said auxiliary wheelsyieldingly in contact with said track, substantially as specified.

9. The combination with the track, and a motor operating thereon, ofmain supporting track wheels, and auxiliary track wheels geared thereto,said auxiliary track wheels being yieldingly connected to said drivinggear, and a spring for holding said auxiliary track wheels yieldingly incontact with said track, substantially as specified.

10. The combination with a stationary track, of a moving car, guides orWays on said car, carrying receptacles to engage the said guides orways, stations along said track IIO each consisting essentially ofstandards having a movable frame with a U-shaped support on Which'saidreceptacles are adapted to rest, a spring-catch for holding saidtraveling frame in an elevated position, and a pivoted latch adapted torest at one end against said spring catch and at the other in positionto be engaged by said receptacle holding said frame in its normalposition, a pivoted latch adjacent to said spring catch having aprojection adapted to be engaged by said receptacles, stop projectionsat said stations corresponding to similar stop projections on saidreceptacles, whereby as the car passes said station the receptacle isdischarged and engaging with said pivoted latch disenvbe engaged on saidcar, a spring catch for gages said spring catch, substantially asspecified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 28th day ofAugust, A. D. 1894.

HARRY M; NEER.

Witnesses:

FRANK W. GEIGER, CHAS. I. WELCH.

